Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic win opening matches at Wimbledon

Helene Elliott

Order was generally restored among the top seeds Tuesday at Wimbledon, where the No. 1 men’s and women’s players easily won their opening matches one day after No. 5 Rafael Nadal had been eliminated in a shocking straight-set defeat.

Serena Williams extended her winning streak to 32 matches with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Mandy Minella of Luxembourg, taking only 57 minutes. Williams’ serve was broken once, and although it seemed like a romp she insisted she never let up.

“I feel that I'm always ready,” the defending champion told reporters. “You know, I never feel invincible. I always feel that I have to be ready for each opponent in each game, and I never become overconfident. I think when I do or if I do, that's the moment that I'm most vulnerable.”

[Updated at 11:25 a.m.: No. 4 seed David Ferrer of Spain fell twice during his first-round match against Martin Alund of Argentina and limped noticeably in the late stages, but he held off Alund, 6-1, 4-6, 7-5, 6-2, on Wimbledon’s Center Court.

Ferrer fell to the grass once in the second set and again in the fourth, yelling in pain for several seconds because of an apparent ankle injury. But he was able to finish and move on, though he was scheduled to have his ankle examined afterward.

“I’m okay,” he told the BBC, his expression reflecting more embarrassment than pain.